In order to define geometry pieces of mechanical designs, the geometry pieces have to be dimensioned. An example of a dimension is a linear dimension from one edge of a geometry piece to a hole in the same geometry piece. Along with the linear dimension, a radius dimension may define the size of the hole. Together, the linear dimension and the radius dimension define a location and size of the hole in the geometry piece of the mechanical design. Full definition of the geometry piece normally includes multiple dimensions with varying features. Examples of types of dimensions are horizontal, vertical, parallel, perpendicular, diameter, radius, etc. For the purposes of this application, vertical, horizontal, etc., will be generically referred to as dimension types. Additionally, for the purposes of this application, lines, arcs, etc., will be generically referred to as geometry pieces.
Generally, only limited support is provided by conventional design software on dimensioning multiple geometry pieces and selecting a type of dimension a designer wishes to display. Typically, the support is limited to a method involving selecting a first piece of geometry, selecting a second piece of geometry, and creating a temporary dimension between the two pieces of geometry. The temporary dimension type will depend on the nature of the two pieces of geometry. Once the designer has viewed the temporary dimension type, the designer will typically have to re-select the geometry pieces in order to display a desired dimension. Thus, displaying a type of dimension that is not the last temporary dimension will require the designer to redundantly re-select the previously selected geometry pieces in the same sequence. However, recreating the desired dimension can be difficult because recreating the previous temporary dimension type will often require the designer to select the identical position on the geometry pieces, which can be difficult.
Thus, a more user friendly approach for selecting a dimension for display, while displaying several temporary dimension types is desired. As will be discussed in more detail below, the present invention achieves these and other desirable objectives, which will be apparent from the disclosure to follow.